Risotto with Winter Greens - so good.

[Tom P]

WINTER GREENS RISOTTO

Over the years I have become more and more addicted to a variety of things… perhaps none so much, separately, as risotto and sautéed greens. For a few years I have been making a terrific pasta tossed with greens. Tonight, with a friend, I made a risotto with sautéed greens that was terrific.

A sidenote is that I love all kinds of greens. You can cook them solo, or combine them. Beet greens have become some of my favorite. But anything works.

Tonight, it was a wild and wonderful mixture of greens from my CSA box: chard (whatever color), kale (whatever color), beet greens, dandelion greens and Italian parsley leaves. You could add or substitute anything: spinach, mustard greens, collards, whatever.

In one pot we made a simple risotto… sauté chopped onion (and tonight, the addition of chopped fennel, which was on hand), then add the Arborio rice. Saute 3 minutes then add white wine. When the wine had cooked down, start adding warm chicken broth. Cook as you would risotto until it is time to add the final ingredients.

At the same time, in olive oil and garlic, we sautéed the greens. We started with a huge bowl of greens, torn into relatively bite sixed pieces, adding greens to the pot as need be. As they cook, add more olive oil as needed, and white wine or chicken broth, then a touch of balsamic vinegar, all for flavor.

When the risotto is almost done, add butter, parmesan cheese, and the greens. Cover and let rest a few minutes.

Wow. This was GOOD.

[Phoo_d]

Mmm....that sounds delicious! I'm going to have to give this a try.

Phoo-D
http://www.phoo-d.om

[spm]

Yum! I'm trying this one with the kale and chard I have in my garden. Think I'll steam the greens first before I saute them in garlic. Love those greens!

[wineos]

This sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your experience and a wonderful idea!

[Shrinkrap]

My CSA features chard, kale, collards, and fennel a lot right now. I'm gonna try this. Somehow the collards seem to strong though ; No?

[Tom P]

Personally, I love collards and like very spicy greens. I think mixed in they would be fine...or I should say, I know I would like it. If you are not sure, you can always leave them out, or saute them separately and do a taste test before you drop them in with the rest of the greens.

[alkapal]

thanks for sharing this!

hmmm, olive oil, butter, garlic, greens, parm, risotto, balsamic vinegar, white wine...... how could you go wrong for deliciousness with those great ingredients? ;-).

you stirred in the greens into the risotto, or topped the risotto, to stir in at the table? would you change the size of the chopped greens? how much "tooth" did you leave in them?

[Tom P]

I stirred the greens (fully cooked) into the risotto at the end with the butter and parm. Then put the top on the pot and let it sit for a bit. I just tore the greens with my hands into relatively bite sized pieces. You could always cut them into matchsticks but I am not sure it is worth the trouble. If by tooth you mean crisp, we cooked them down fairly soft. You could easily leave them crunchier. Or if by tooth you mean spice... these had a definite bite! A lot of garlic and now that I think about it I think my friend used both Balsamic and Sherry Vinegar. Let me know if you like it!

[alkapal]

i used tooth to mean crunchiness level. i don't know if i'd want them really, really soft, like a saag dish, or retaining some textural contrast with the creamy risotto.

btw, all hounds, recall our discussion about the "toothsome" term that we cringed at in food reviews? http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4617...
i heard alton brown (YES! AB!) use it to describe some dish's texture -- and not flavorfulness -- on iron chef just recently. will our language "evolve" to admit this "mis"-use?